Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 461 Extraordinary Influence
When Berlin Film Festival director Dieter Kosslick announced that the Golden Bear winner was "Like Father, Like Son," the guests simply applauded as usual. They hadn't yet realized what this Golden Bear meant to Cao Yang.

No matter which film festival it is, the film that wins the grand prize will be met with thunderous applause and cheers from the entire audience, regardless of what the guests think, whether they have seen or heard of the film, or even if they are dissatisfied or disdainful.

Especially when the camera pans to the audience, which guest doesn't have a look of joy on their face and applaud enthusiastically?

This has become a standard practice, regardless of whether it's domestic or international.

"Congratulations! Congratulations! You got what you wanted! That's amazing!"

Li Xiaoran excitedly hugged Cao Yang.

Cao Yang could clearly feel that Xiao Ran was hugging him a little tightly, which reflected her unusual excitement and agitation.

Furthermore, Li Xiaoran hugged Cao Yang for nearly twenty seconds before letting go, which went beyond the polite hug expected of an award winner at a film festival.

I've never hugged someone this long and this tightly.

Some of the guests might already be thinking that this Chinese Berlin Film Festival Best Actress winner is a bit too excited.

When Li Xiaoran let go, it seemed that Sister Hong had been waiting for "a long time".

She imitated Li Xiaoran, appearing extremely excited, and hugged Cao Yang tightly.

"Cao Yang, congratulations on your triple gold medal grand slam! You've made history!"

As she spoke, she hugged Cao Yang's hand, which was on his back, and kept stroking it up and down.

Cao Yang didn't know if Sister Hong was excited or trying to take advantage of him, but on this joyous day, he would just assume she was excited.

Sister Hong seemed a bit too excited, hugging Cao Yang for over twenty seconds before letting go.

Li Xiaoran got a little angry after watching it.

She secretly decided that when Cao Yang suggested celebrating that evening, she'd... hmph...

She laughed, but couldn't help showing her teeth.

"Coach Cao, congratulations on winning the Golden Bear! Congratulations on achieving the Grand Slam!"

After Sister Hong "released" Cao Yang, Wu Qihua turned around and gave him a light hug, saying with a smile.

His smile was genuine, and his congratulations came from the bottom of his heart.

As everyone knows, he was made famous by Director Cao. Among so many big stars in Hong Kong, he is in the first tier, or even in the top three, all thanks to Cao Yang.

Now that he has won the Best Actor award, he has no shortage of major awards and has also won an international Best Actor award, which has further solidified his position.

Huang Bo watched from the sidelines with some envy, thinking how wonderful it would be if he could win the Best Actor award.

However, now that I've acted in a Golden Bear-winning film, and more importantly, this film is of extraordinary significance, my future career will definitely be much smoother.

"Director Cao, congratulations! I knew you would win the Golden Bear, become number one in Asia, number one among Chinese, and eventually number one in the world."

Huang Bo stood on tiptoe, stretched his body over, hugged Cao Yang, and complimented him with a smile.

Seeing Cao Yang and the people around him celebrating in such an unusual way, some regulars of the three major European restaurants had already realized what was going on—it would be understandable if it were a newlywed couple celebrating like this, but who is Cao Yang? How could he possibly be like an ordinary person?
These people had somewhat complicated expressions and began whispering among themselves.

Some people just felt that Cao Yang and his friends celebrated for a bit too long, but they could understand. If they were in his shoes and won the Berlin Golden Bear, they might have celebrated even more extravagantly.

When Cao Yang came to the stage, Dieter Koslick hugged him, his expression somewhat complicated, but it only lasted for a moment.

"Cao, congratulations. I hope you will continue to support the Berlin Film Festival as always."

Dieter Kosslick brought this up at this moment to remind Cao Yang not to forget that it was the Berlin Film Festival, and that he himself had withstood the pressure to give this award.

This is also a helpless move.

Dieter Kosslick could imagine that after winning the Golden Bear, Cao Yang would definitely reduce the number of times he came to the top three European clubs, and even if he did come, he might not choose Berlin as his first choice.

But what can he do now?
All we can do is play the emotional card.

"Thank you, don't worry, I will."

Cao Yang replied with a smile.

Dieter Koslick released Cao Yang, stepped in front of the microphone, and said softly, "Congratulations once again to 'Like Father, Like Son,' and congratulations again to Director Cao Yang. This is a historic moment, and you are all witnesses to history."

The audience fell silent, all eyes fixed on Dieter Koslick.

People usually group the Berlin Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Venice Film Festival together as the three major European film festivals. These three festivals simply have different focuses and are not ranked in any particular order.

Each of the three major European film festivals has its own principles and style. It is very difficult to win awards at the three major European film festivals, especially the top awards, let alone win all three of the top awards.

That's something only a genius with exceptional dedication and passion for art can accomplish.

In the decades-long history of the three major film festivals, prior to the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, only three great artists worldwide had achieved this.

At this point, the audience began to get a little "chaotic," as most people realized the significance of today's Golden Bear.

Ignoring the murmurs below the stage, Dieter Kosslick announced in an even louder voice: "Today, at this moment, as the president of the Berlin Film Festival, I am extremely honored to announce that the fourth director in the world to win all three of Europe's highest awards has emerged, the fourth Grand Slam winner has emerged, and he is..."

"Cao Yang!"

"Cao Yang!"

"Cao Yang!"

"Cao Yang!"

……

The crowd began chanting Cao Yang's name in unison, and people kept standing up.

Just a few dozen seconds later, all the guests stood up, and the cheers didn't stop; instead, they became even louder.

This is a moment to witness history.

Tonight's 59th Berlin International Film Festival awards ceremony will surely go down in history, and every guest and every filmmaker present is a witness to history.

"So? So? Which film won the Golden Bear?"

CCTV reporter Huang Qibo asked Zhao Letao and another young Chinese man who ran from the lobby.

The two were sent to gather information.

Huang Qibo was now surrounded by a number of Chinese media reporters, both from traditional and online media.

At this moment, everyone was staring at Zhao Letao and his companion.

Zhao Letao nodded vigorously, his face beaming with excitement, and shouted, "It's Director Cao! It's 'Like Father, Like Son'! Tonight's Golden Bear belongs to Director Cao!"

Another young man was also very excited. He added, "Everyone in the audience was chanting Director Cao's name. The voices were very loud and very unified. You could hear it as long as you were near the awards ceremony hall."

"That's right, wow, everyone's shouting, one by one, shouting in perfect unison. Director Cao is really something..."

Zhao Letao added.

"Of course, that's Director Cao, the youngest director to win all three major film awards, the fourth director in the world to receive this honor, the first in Asia, and the first Chinese... Of course he's got prestige!"

"Director Cao is amazing. He truly deserves the title of Director Cao. He has accomplished what no one else can do."

"Haha, Director Cao's three Golden Awards are really impressive, especially since his award-winning film is a Chinese-language film, which is the most meaningful thing."

"Yes, this is of groundbreaking significance for China, a manifestation of our cultural soft power, and a major achievement in the 'going global' of Chinese culture..."

Huang Qibo concluded excitedly.

As expected of a CCTV reporter, those words are quite insightful.

"Send a message, send a message back to China right away!" Someone shouted, and several reporters immediately sprang into action. At this point, who the hell cared about time zones? Such important news, no matter what time it was, had to be shared with their own media outlets first.

Hou Keming stayed up late again tonight.

Cao Yang may not have truly valued the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, but Hou Keming certainly did.

A triple gold medal grand slam!

If Cao Yang can win the Golden Bear tonight, he will achieve a triple gold medal grand slam.

Hou Keming knew very well that with Cao Yang's ability and age, winning the three gold medals was only a matter of time.

But for Hou Keming, it was definitely better to do it sooner rather than later.

Hou Keming hopes that while he is still in office, the school can produce a director who wins the three major film awards, especially when Cao Yang is still pursuing his doctorate, that would be even more wonderful.

He stayed up all night to watch the live stream of the groom's entertainment program.

But he didn't like Wang Xiaoshuai and Lu Wei.

Especially when both of them believed that, for some reason, it would be difficult for Cao Yang to win the Golden Bear this year.

Hou Keming knew that these two were definitely unaware of the efforts made by the higher-ups and the school, and they were also unaware of Cao Yang's backup plan... Their analysis seemed to make sense, but he just didn't like it.

As the awards ceremony progressed, Hou Keming became increasingly uneasy.

Hou Keming's face changed when Wu Qihua won the Best Actor award at the Berlin Film Festival.

His ideal scenario was that "Like Father, Like Son" would win no awards at all—since he was told he would win an award if he stayed, and he couldn't win any of the previous awards, then he would "only" be able to win the Golden Bear.

Therefore, it's easy to imagine how complicated Hou Keming's mindset was when Wu Qihua won the Best Actor award.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

When the studio audience started applauding, and when Lu Wei said "unbelievable" three times in a row, Hou Keming finally felt relieved.

He finally felt a release from the anxiety and uncertainty he had been suppressing for half a day.

Hou Keming waved his hand vigorously, clenched his fist, and waved again...

The voice involuntarily rose in pitch, sounding somewhat strange.

After the initial excitement subsided, Hou Keming picked up his phone, about to dial, but then chuckled to himself, realizing he hadn't made the call.

He was so excited that he forgot about the time.

Old Situ sat on the sofa, his eyes half-closed. If it weren't for the cigarette still burning in his hand, one would think he was asleep.

Just then, the phone on the left rang.

He grabbed the phone, but instead of answering immediately, he took a deep breath, stubbed out the cigarette in his other hand in the ashtray, and then answered the call.

"It's done..."

For a moment, all Old Situ could hear were those two words; he didn't hear anything else Tian Zhuangzhuang said.

He wasn't sure whether he hung up on Tian Zhuangzhuang or Tian Zhuangzhuang hung up on him, and he didn't even know where he had put the phone after it was disconnected.

"Done?"

"Hey, it's done!"

Old Situ lit a cigarette with a "snap," but just held it between his index and middle fingers without smoking it, and just chuckled foolishly.

President Han also stayed up late tonight.

When the definite news arrived, he laughed and said, "Great, great!"

Many people who are close to Cao Yang are still awake tonight.

Yu Feihong did not sleep.

Gao Yuanyuan didn't sleep.

Dong Xuan didn't sleep.

Fat Ice didn't sleep either.

Jing Tian, ​​who is currently filming a TV series, also stayed up late.

Before dawn the next day, people at the Beijing Film Academy were already busy with preparations.

There's still some time before the start of the new semester, and some people are wondering what the Beijing Film Academy is hanging at the school gate at this time.

Walk in and take a look.

I don't know when it started, but the Beijing Film Academy no longer hangs separate banners. Instead, like putting up Spring Festival couplets, they hang two large vertical banners on both sides of the main entrance, and yes, there's also a horizontal scroll.

On the left is: Warmest congratulations to our school's director Cao Yang for winning the Golden Bear Award at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival.

On the right is: Warmly celebrate the historic achievement of our school's director Cao Yang in winning the grand slam of the three major European film festivals.

The horizontal scroll reads: Congratulations to Director Cao Yang for becoming the fourth director in global history and the first in Asia and the first in China to achieve a Grand Slam.

The crowd watching the spectacle were mostly teachers from the Beijing Film Academy's residential compound who got up early, as well as employees from the Qingdao Film Studio. Their first reaction was that so many words were indeed unsuitable for hanging as a banner.

My second reaction was, wow! Cao Yang won the Berlin Golden Bear! Cao Yang has achieved a Grand Slam!

What amazing news!

The strong reaction to Cao Yang's Grand Slam victory came not only from these individuals, but also from traditional and online media.

Special report from this newspaper: In the early hours of this morning Beijing time, the winners of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival were officially announced. Chinese director Cao Yang won the Golden Bear Award for his film "Like Father, Like Son".

Thus, this young filmmaker accomplished an unprecedented feat—becoming the first Chinese director to win the Venice Golden Lion, the Cannes Palme d'Or, and the Berlin Golden Bear, achieving a "grand slam" of the three major European film festivals.

The People's Daily added a special feature article with a brief text.

The text is brief, but its meaning is extraordinary.

《早间新闻》是央视于1993年5月1日推出的新闻栏目，初为《东方时空》子板块，2006年整合《6点新闻》等节目后更名为《朝闻天下》。

The program adopts a live broadcast mode that combines CCTV's main channel and news channel, and is broadcast from 6:00 to 8:30 every day. It focuses on major domestic and international current events and social hotspots, forming a multi-program news broadcasting system in the morning.

Today's "Morning News" program specially added a text broadcast, which took nearly five minutes to report on Cao Yang winning the Golden Bear Award and achieving the European Grand Slam.

The China Film Archive called the Beijing Film Academy early this morning, wanting to collect materials there, establish a special archive, and organize special screenings and exhibitions.

The Film Bureau and the Ministry of Education sent congratulatory telegrams to the Beijing Film Academy, stating that "this is the result of Chinese filmmakers' adherence to their original aspirations in art."

Cao Yang's achievement of winning three major European gold medals may seem insignificant to him, but it is a landmark event in Chinese cultural circles, and the media has reported on it comprehensively with a high degree of professionalism and pride.

The report not only highlights the international artistic value of this achievement but also emphasizes its inspirational significance for the development of Chinese culture, forming a three-dimensional reporting pattern that combines traditional and online media and links domestic and international dissemination.

Cao Yang really didn't expect that a European three-gold Grand Slam would cause such a big commotion.

The last time, the world's first European Grand Slam of Best Directors was highlighted as the "first," but compared to this "fourth" global Grand Slam of the three major awards, well, it's simply incomparable.

The scale of the reporting, as well as the level of attention and importance given by domestic media, are not on the same level.

That evening, the evening news program devoted eight minutes to reporting on this matter.

However, unlike the morning when major media outlets had not yet provided photos and interviews, CCTV's evening news program not only included photos but also a video interview, providing comprehensive coverage.

Furthermore, the news broadcast also used phrases such as "historic breakthrough," "cultural confidence," "new era," "milestone," and "contributing a unique Chinese perspective to the world film industry."

(End of this chapter)